1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a data processing system, computer implemented method, and a computer program product. More specifically, the present invention relates to a data processing system, computer implemented method, and a computer program product for preventing the delivery of undesired e-mail messages.
2. Description of the Related Art
The Internet is a global network of computers and networks joined together by gateways that handle data transfer and the conversion of messages from a protocol of a sending network to a protocol used by a receiving network. On the Internet, any computer may communicate with any other computer. Information travels between computers over the Internet through a variety of languages also referred to as protocols. The set of protocols used on the Internet is called the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP).
The Internet has revolutionized communications and commerce, as well as being a source of information and entertainment. For many users, e-mail is a widely used format to communicate over the Internet. It is commonplace for users to send e-mail messages to others users through the Internet.
The use of e-mail messages is commonplace for personal and business use. E-mail messages are used by individuals to keep in touch with and communicate with other users. Additionally, e-mail messages provide a medium to collaborate and exchange documents.
The amount of e-mail messages sent in the business environment has grown exponentially. Managing and responding to e-mail messages can be an enormous burden to employees and can adversely impact their productivity. Particularly problematic, is the tendency of e-mail senders to include more recipients than necessary when composing new e-mail messages. This problem is compounded when recipients of the unwanted e-mail messages “reply to all” when sending a response to stop receiving unwanted email messages. Thus, a recipient may be inundated with numerous replies to an e-mail message that was originally unwanted.
Currently, the only recourse the recipient of the unwanted e-mail message has to stop the flood of responses is to issue a “reply to all” e-mail message directed to other “to:” or “cc:” recipients, asking them to delete the original recipient from any additional responses to the thread. This request method is often ineffective, since it relies on each “to:” or “cc:” recipient to delete the original non-desiring recipient from their responses. Furthermore, this request method only adds to the glut of unwanted e-mail messages being sent to other users.
Therefore, it would be advantageous to have a computer implemented method, apparatus, and computer program code to address the above described problems as well as other problems.